Comparable to spark plugs used for high-voltage ignition, laser spark plugs are situated in the area of a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine and inject high-energy laser pulses into a combustion chamber assigned to them in order to ignite an air-fuel mixture located in it. Considerable design complexity is required in order to ensure a reliable operation of a laser spark plug, including optical components integrated into it under the surrounding conditions (great temperature fluctuations, vibrations, among other things) prevailing in the area of the cylinder head.
A laser-based ignition system for an internal combustion engine in which a converging lens is situated in a laser spark plug is already discussed in JP 2006-242038 A. In addition, the known laser spark plug has a deformation arrangement which is configured for deforming the converging lens. In this way, it is possible to vary the ignition location of the known laser ignition system.
A disadvantage of the known laser-based ignition system is the design complexity associated with the provision of the deformation arrangement for the targeted deformation of the converging lens. Considerable drive energy is required for the deformation arrangement in order to deform the relatively massive converging lens in the desired manner for setting the focus position.